To save trail property purchase, Vernon mayor vetoes ordinance

Vernon Mayor Howard Burrell said on Feb. 18 that he would veto an ordinance, approved by the Township Council four days earlier, that would have repealed the purchase of the Baldwin property to complete the township’s walking and biking trail.

The council voted to repeal the ordinance, 3-2. Councilmen Mike Furrey and Harry Shortway opposed the repeal.

Burrell’s veto would confirm Ordinance 21-06, which authorized the township to purchase 8-20 Black Creek Drive for open space purposes and to connect a walking and biking trail to the site of the township’s planned bicycle pump track, located on a neighboring township-owned parcel.

“The acceptance of my responsibility as mayor requires that I veto this ordinance in order to save Vernon taxpayers from unnecessary legal costs, and save the Township of Vernon from the loss of trust and credibility that would result if Ordinance 22-04 was allowed to stand, and the township reneged on its legal commitment,” Burrell said.

Mayor: Lead is below hazard threshold

The Baldwin property owners, Thomas and Mike Hussey, and the township had agreed on a $289,000 price for the land. The purchase was contingent upon the township obtaining a clear Phase 1 environmental study of the property.

The study found a 55-gallon drum and other refuse that needed additional investigation in a Phase 2 study. The more intense study found some lead-contaminated soil in the area surrounding the 55-gallon drum.

Burrell said on Nov. 13 that the amount of lead was measured at 530 parts per million, below the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s standard of 1,000 parts per million for industrial and commercial sites. It was slightly above the DEP’s residential standard, which the township chose to use.

The owners of the property, listed in the ordinance as Thomas and Mike Hussey, hired Applied Service Corporation of Lafayette to remove the contaminated soil.

According to DEP records, remediation was scheduled to begin on Oct. 12, 2021. DEP remediation schedules show tasks stretching out as far as 2029.

Records obtained from the DEP on Feb. 16 refer to the case status as “unrestricted use.” It was previously listed as “under LSRP Oversight.”

The council could try to override Burrell’s veto, but it would require an unlikely two-thirds majority vote.